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501-Zed
501-Zed (42 BBY—) is a freelance police droid working for the Corporate Sector. This particular Police droid has metallic-blue armor plating — instead of standard red — and a single composite optical visor which glows red. It is mostly humanoid in shape and about average in height (compared to an adult human). Description Standing at exactly 1.85 Meters tall, Zed is a height designed to be neither 'intimidating nor diminutive' if you ask one of his designers. He's a roughly humanoid 501-Z Police Droid with a few differences. For one, the standard matte red durasteel armor plating that covers all of his internal workings has been replaced with a tougher, blaster resistant, metallic-blue version, obviously an upgrade from the original. The droid's head is a simple dome shape with a glowing red optical sensor which spans it's width and a all-in-one vocabulator/aural receptor, shaped roughly like a surgical mask. The arms and legs of the droid appear to be piston powered, and a quick check would show that the pistons are robust and sturdy enough for combat, perhaps a little more sturdy than the standard model. The arms end with heavy servogrips, humanoid but with only 3 fingers and opposable thumbs fully capable of all but the most dexterous manual operations. Basic Information 501-Z – the epitome of mass-produced police droids. The selling point of this line was actually a number of things: they were durable, they were unflinchingly loyal to the law, and they were effective. But most of all, they were smart. They could think ahead to a degree unknown in other droids, and had a sense of empathy that exceeds even many humans. This, combines with their very autonomous programming, and frequently high access to resources, they were exceptionally good at tracking down and arresting criminals from the scene of the crime al the way to whatever planet they hide out on. And they do this selflessly; a 501-Z Police droid would be more than willing to throw itself into certain death to hunt down a fugitive, or to protect the innocent. This was seen by many as a drawback, but this point was outweighed by sheer effectiveness. The 501-Z is a SoroSub product, that was discontinued some time ago. They were originally produced on Sullust, though production area grew with popularity. 501-Z Droids are originally given a tough chassis that takes quite a beating both physical and energy, and no integrated weapons, relying on stun-maces and low powered blasters to take down fugitives non-lethally. They are also able to grapple and restrain criminals. History What Went Wrong So, what made an unflinchingly loyal, selfless droid go into contract killing, bounty hunting and general thuggery? The story starts on Coruscant, hub of the Galaxy. And this was during the times of the Old Republic, before even the Clone Wars. A crime had been committed, a murder of a not-so-important Human. It might have been a homicide or a mugging gone out of hand or a revenge killing or a hate crime. The case was never solved, because the local 'Zed' who was put on the case never finished his investigations. Everything was going as usual and within 24 hours of the crime the droid was hot on the tail of a promising suspect, a young Rodian who had been on Coruscant for only a short visit. And after asking a few questions at the right places, the droid was boarding a police shuttle heading for Nar Shadda. And even back then it was as lawless as it is now, as lawless as it seems it has always been as long as most people care to investigate, at the very least. It was not long after landing on this smugglers moon that Zed was asking the wrong people the right questions, and soon a gunfight started. Zed was able to defend himself for a while, but it was not too long before his power core was irreparably breached, he purged his memory banks and went offline, for a while at least. Resurrection At the last installation the protagonist of this story was left offline and abandoned on the lower levels of Nar Shaddaa. How did it come to be that he was brought back to operational life, then? Well, they say one man's trash is another man's treasure, or in this case, one man's trash is another Ithorian's treasure. The abandoned body of Zed managed to escape destruction simply by being not worth anyone's attention. For years his pistons corroded and his plating disintegrated but his hardier workings remained in tact and eventually he was found by an Ithorian would-be mechanic come scrap-merchant who was really strapped for cash. He decided what the heck he would fix the thing, and so he tore apart a smashed up labor droid, installed the new power core, replaced the plating and the motivators and even installed a new, if rudimentary vocabulator. Zed rose again, in a sense, for you see the droid still had all of it's core components but with it'd programming severely damaged only a vague and jumbled purpose and almost no cognitive functions. Unable to decide just what line of droids the Zed was, due to his wanting knowledge, but deciding he was built like a combat droid, bounty hunting programming was installed into the droid, and in the process the inhibitors stopping him from using lethal force were destroyed. And now the Zed was a new beast entirely. He was, only days after his completion, sold to a greedy and rich, though not very powerful Rodian gangster and it seemed that things had come full circle in a sense, but the Zed's story was not over yet. Servitude Zed served under this Rodian for many years, helping him destroy his enemies in the small-time gangland of lower Nar Shaddaa. Killing enemies of his master when asked, destroying, sabotaging and generally causing havoc. The droid's autonomy took on a new meaning altogether as he had no actual freedom. Zed learned how to do what he did better; he learned how to do things that were not in his original programming, like make makeshift repairs to himself or his weapons. And in this process, which took the best part of his 10 years of service, he slowly but surely became self-aware as he did not receive any memory wipes. At first because he hid the personality that was developing well, and later because it was apparent that this personality was helping him help his master. But with this personality came malcontent. Zed became, for want of a better term, bored of the senseless tasks his power hungry master sent him on. The Rodian was a big fish in a small pond but was too scared to move on, and the droid began to hate him. Hate his weakness, and hate the weakness it caused in him, the thing's personal hellbot. In his tenth year, the droid left on a 'mission' and never returned. He had in fact found a scrap merchant, destroyed his tracking device and done what few droids do; Directly disobeyed his master. Made a bid for freedom. And that is just what he got, though it took him another year to get it. A year of remaining inactive in the back room of this trader's shop, waiting for his moment to come, the moment when he could leave this moon. And so it did, he was shipped off the moon and to Tatooine, 11 years after his reactivation. Freedom It was not hard for this police droid to find work on Tatooine, less than a week after arriving on the planet, and while still seeking an audience with the Hutt Lord, Draga the droid apprehended a member of the organization, Aegis Kappa, bare-handed due to a lack of weapons. This man was handed into Imperial forces for questioning. Just over a week later, the droid finally made his way to the Hutt's palace, and was granted admission into the Hutt's ranks. While working for the Hutt lord, Zed was in charge of enforcing the creature's Laws and collecting debts. Notable acts that occurred during this time are the capture of Sha'dria (though she was released and later voluntarily turned herself in) as well as a number of independent bounties. The droid's freedom was enjoyed, however it would not last long, it seemed, for the Zed of our story quickly gained enemies and friends alike, though more of the former. And old parts of his programming began to re-surface, parts of his emotional matrix began to come back online and the droid became hesitant to attack those he had called friend. His independent bounty hunting decreased considerably and eventually he attempted what has been his last bounty to date. He attacked, in a bar, Jarek. During the fight someone who Zed had recently fought alongside, Jaxx Morgan stood in the way and eventually deactivated Zed with repeated shotgun blasts. After this unpleasant experience and Zed was repaired, he approached the CSA, looking for a more legitimate line of work. Upgrades and Customizations *Outer Plating This droid's chassis and hydraulics have been extensively reworked, strengthened and enhanced. His plating is now made of superior quality materials, and his hydraulics are up to modern standards. Overall, they offer excellent physical protection and improved strength with only a minor penalty to his mobility (Enhanced Armor) *Generator Backpack Zed's enhanced chassis comes with a cost; his internal energy stores cannot handle it on his own. However, he compensates for this by attaching an advanced microgenerator, in the form of a back-attachment. This generator provides a considerable surpluss which can be directly connected to blasters to extend their ammunition clips. *Behavioral Modification Zed's restrictive, non-lethal programming has been removed and so he is now just as able as any other being to use lethal weaponry, or to use excessive force. *Visual Sensor Upgrade Zed's optical sensors have been upgraded so that he is able to effectively use blaster-type weapons. Accessory Components *Bodyform Micro-Repulsors *Comlink Unit embedded *Standard Galactic Credit Storage *Stereo-sound emitters *Magnetic Bow-Tie *Arm and Leg cushion padding *High-Power Shoulder-Mounted Flashlight *Spikes on Shoulders and Forearm Plating *Wrist-Firing Grappling-Hook *Chest-mounted Holorecorder/emitter *Temporary Dragon Markings - Red Paint *Exterior Radiator Circuits *Laser Scalpel Cutting Torch *Personal Energy Shield Emitter *Interior-chest Vanity mirror *Massage Wand attachment *Electric Spot-Welding tool Weaponry *Stun Baton Attachment A blunt object with a handle, made for bonking things with. Some are wood. Some are metal. Some are made of advanced synthetics. Whatever the composition, they all have the same simple principle -- grasp firmly and strike target. This particular one, however, is a little bit thicker at the top, perhaps concealing something in the bulge. Category:CSA Characters Category:Droids